Zae became homeless in the Perth CBD last year when the teenager felt home was no longer an option.

Zae, 16, recognises it is not an uncommon problem.

"Growing up ... I didn't get what I needed. I had to search for it elsewhere and didn't learn what a home is supposed to feel like."

Now Zae has the chance to tell that story using photography, in a new exhibition opening today as part of national Homelessness Prevention Week.

I used to sit on the ground and watch people's feet walk past me.

Zae

The project, The Home Is Where My Heart Is, pairs photographers with young people who have been homeless.

Zae was often caught up in dangerous situations, and before the mentoring project, had never touched a professional camera.

"Desperation can call anywhere home. I'm amazed by my ability to find home in so many places over such a short time. At 15, I found home in strangers' arms, baring marks of a past life to them in cars, houses, dark streets, parks," Zae said.

"Home was an empty carriage on the 10:30 train to anywhere. A journey to the moon and back, an outfit change and too tired to sleep but hidden from the system's wandering eyes."

Teamed with international photographer Jarrad Seng, Zae chose the theme of feet.

"I used to sit on the ground and watch people's feet walk past me," Zae said.

"Three of the pictures are all taken in train stations because I used to spend a lot of time hanging out at train stations so they are really familiar.

"The one called Can You See Me? ... it's in the underground, and it's about watching other people move on with their lives but feeling like you are stuck. So it's like, 'well everyone else's world goes on without me'.

"My main picture is of my feet looking over traffic passing under a bridge, taken at the Leederville underpass. It's there because where I live now at Foyer is really close to that area, so that's like the destination, like look how far I've come, contemplating all of the journey. It's like reflecting forward."

Zae, who identifies as gender neutral, is now a resident at Foyer Oxford, the state's biggest transitional accommodation service for young people.

It gives young people some control and dignity back over the situation that they've been in ... they can tell their story in the way they want to.

John Thomson

"I've really moved forward now, I have a stable place to live and I'm studying community services work as a goal of going to uni," Zae said.

Seng said Zae had a natural talent for storytelling.

"It was amazing to see Zae's confidence and skill level grow with each photography challenge we set ourselves," he said.

"Not having a safe place to sleep at night is a foreign concept to most Australians, including myself. The exhibition is a chance to gain a rare human insight behind the headlines, news grabs and statistics," he said.